Central Texas

06/17/2014

A nonprofit organization that provides legal counsel for asylum seekers says Waco’s Jack Harwell Detention Center should not be used to house immigration detainees prior to deportation.

Officials from American Gateways, formerly the Political Asylum Project of Austin, toured the Harwell facility in April.

They are urging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to discontinue using it because detainees with no criminal records were being held in a jail, said Stephanie Taylor, an American Gateways attorney.

“It is clear that this is a penal institution,” Taylor said. “It houses individuals in criminal custody, and it’s very different from the other ICE facilities that our organization does work at.”

Loss of the $55.50 per detainee per day that ICE pays to house them would put a dent in operating revenue, officials say.

“Every little bit is important to us. . . . We definitely want to continue using ICE,” said Tim Kurpiewski, LaSalle’s director of finance. “It would definitely impact our businesses.”

LaSalle pays McLennan County about $4 million per year to cover the bond issue used to build the jail. LaSalle earns that by housing inmates from different governmental institutions, McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said.

The facility needs to hold about 600 inmates in order to cover expenses.

The McLennan County Jail sends its overflow inmates to the Harwell facility for $45.50 per day per inmate. Johnson County and the U.S. Marshals Service also send inmates to Harwell.

Taylor said Gateways simply is telling ICE to follow the guidelines its director, John Morton, set in 2009.

ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said the organization is open to discussing any concerns with partnering agencies, but the Harwell facility has passed all its inspections.

A statement released by ICE said “independent detention inspections are conducted by private contractors with extensive corrections experience to ensure quality assurance over the review process, consistency in the application of detention standards and verification of corrective actions, if any.”

Taylor said the tour of Harwell revealed no outdoor recreation space, no contact visitation room and outdated law materials. “When you have materials that are that outdated, it really affects the ability of an individual to represent themselves before an immigration court,” she said.

Other concerns, Taylor said, were the lack of information given detainees about how long they would be held, their lack of access to an asylum officer and a confusing phone system.

“If an individual is afraid to return to their home country because they are going to face persecution, they have a right to see an asylum officer,” Taylor said. “Only one out of the 30 or so individuals we spoke to even knew this was a possibility.”

Felton said he doesn’t think ICE will remove any of its detainees from Harwell because it is a well-run and well-maintained facility.

“I would think it would be one of the last places they want to pull out of,” he said.

06/10/2014

Federal officials are still warehousing people at the Jack Harwell Detention Center even though it has been out of compliance with state standards

(AUSTIN, Texas) — Attorneys in Austin and Waco are sounding the alarm over the conditions at an immigrant detention center in Waco. They say the Jack Harwell Detention Center is not an appropriate place to house immigrants in detention and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have not done enough to fix serious problems at the facility.

“Our interest in the Harwell Detention Center stems from a history of concerns about the facility.” said Denise Gilman, a University of Texas-Austin law professor. “There were strong incentives for the county and the private facility management company to seek contracts with ICE whether or not the facility was appropriate for immigration detention.”

In fact, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found multiple non-compliance issues at the facility in 2012. The facility is run by a private prison company who expected that the federal government would supply enough immigrant detainees to ensure that the facility was profitable.

“If any facility is unable to comply with the standards, ICE should ensure that immigrants are not detained there.” said Barbara Hines, also a University of Texas law professor. “It does not appear that ICE officials adequately considered the situation at the facility before sending immigration detainees there.”

According to ICE’s own proclamations, a penal environment is not appropriate for immigrant detainees — the majority of whom have recently crossed the border and have no criminal history at all. “It is very clearly a penal institution,” added Hines.

A recent visit to the Harwell Detention Center found several serious problems including a lack of access to an adequate law library and that what little legal materials are available are out-dated. People detained also report a lack of access to telephones to call legal service providers and inadequate visitation procedure for non-legal visits.

"None of the detainees whom we interviewed during our visit to the Harwell Detention Center knew that the legallibrary existed," said Susan Nelson, an immigration attorney in Waco, Texas. "Access to legal information is particularly crucial for people in immigration detention."

A lack of clean uniforms and little recreation options and time outdoors were also reported.

A troubling compliance inspection report, issued by the Office of Detention Oversight at the end of 2012, indicated that ICE management had not visited the facility in a year and that ICE did not keep proper records regarding communications with detainees housed there.

“Given the seriousness of the problems with the Harwell Detention Center, we have asked ICE to discontinue placement of immigration detainees at the facility,” said Stephanie Taylor, a staff attorney at American Gateways. “However, ICE has offered no response to our overarching concern that the facility is not appropriate for the detention of civil immigration detainees who do not present any security threat.”

09/12/2012

WACO, Texas (Sept. 12, 2012) - Baylor University's Law School will begin operating a clinic to assist those who may be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. An estimated 150,000 young unauthorized immigrants in Texas are eligible for relief from immediate deportation.

The clinic is in response to President Obama's executive order which allows those who entered the United States as children to remain in the country and work without fear of deportation for a period of two years. It will operate from 6:30 to 10 p.m., Sept. 18, 20, 25 and 27 and Oct. 2 and 4 at the Baylor Law School campus, 1114 S. University Parks Drive.

The Baylor Law School DACA Immigration Clinic is stepping up to help with cumbersome and sometimes confusing paperwork.

Under the direction of Laura A. Hernandez, associate professor of law, and Waco attorney and Baylor Law alumna Susan Nelson, second- and third-year law students will assist applicants in filling out the paperwork needed to take advantage of the program.

"The DACA program is aimed at those immigrants who are between the ages of 15 and 31," Hernandez said. "They are commonly referred to as 'Dreamers' after the Dream Act, which has not yet become law. These young people came to this country before they were 16, were educated in the American school system and for all intents and purposes are American. While the DACA program is not a path to citizenship, it is an opportunity for these immigrants to become lawful, tax-paying residents."

This the second clinic launched this month by Baylor Law to help members of the community with little or no access to legal services. Through a grant from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, Baylor Law also is providing assistance to military veterans. The Baylor Law School Veterans' Clinic begins Sept. 14 at the Mission Waco Meyer Center, 1226 Washington Ave.

"At Baylor Law, we pride ourselves on developing both great lawyers and great citizens," said Baylor Law School Dean Brad Toben. "The immigration and the veterans' clinics are not only a way for our students to gain valuable experience, but perhaps more importantly, to also discover and understand the positive impact their knowledge and skills can make in the lives of people whose voices might not otherwise be heard."

09/02/2012

Local activists are encouraging Waco churches to join a nationwide effort that seeks to move the discussion about immigration policy from the political arena to church pews.

The effort kicked off this summer with a symposium that explored what the Bible says about immigrants and how Christians should respond. Held at First Spanish Assembly of God Church in Waco, it drew representatives from 27 organizations, most of them churches, organizer Manuel Sustaita said.

Now, the fledging group is encouraging pastors to follow through on pledges they made at the event, said Lydia Bean, another organizer.

Nine said they would preach sermons this fall related to God’s heart for immigrants. Others vowed to hold voter registration drives or host guest speakers to educate members about immigration issues, she said.

The group plans to meet later this month to talk about possibly hosting a broader community event, Bean said. But for now, the focus is on encouraging congregations to discuss immigration issues. That sort of grass-roots effort is the best bet for prompting meaningful immigration reform, she said.

“I think it is very clear this is something God cares about . . . Politicians always have their finger in the wind and see how it blows,” said Bean, an assistant sociology professor at Baylor University. “Rather than trying to change the politicians, we’re trying to change the wind.”

Find out if you might qualify for President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Attorneys and BIA Accredited Representatives will be available for individual screenings. Based on income, you may be referred to a nonprofit agency or trusted private attorney who can assist you in completing the required paperwork.

08/03/2012

The Immigration Policy Center issued a report earlier this week on where the potential Deferred Action applicants are. Included in the date is a chart of Deferred Action Applicants by District. In my Texas-17 District that covers Waco, Texas, represented by Rep. Bill Flores, these are the estimates:

Total potential beneficiaries - 4,110

Immediately beneficiaries (age 15-30) - 2,729

Future beneficiaries (age 5-14) - 1,390

The estimates by country of nationality for District 17 is as follows: